Outgoing prime minister Mohammed al-Jalili said on Monday that most members of his former cabinet were working with the rebels “so that the transitional period is quick and smooth”.
The rebels said in a brief statement that their forces were close to establishing complete control of Damascus and preserving public property. They also said Syria’s new government would begin its work as soon as it was formed.
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which represents now-former opposition groups, said on Sunday that it was committed to “completing the transfer of power to a transitional governing body with full executive powers, paving the way for a free, democratic and pluralistic Syria”.
The statement made no mention of HTS, but its vice-president, Dima Moussa, told the BBC that the “transition requires coming together of all Syrian people, including those who are carrying arms”.
Meanwhile, the war continued in other parts of Syria.
HTS and its allies said their forces were advancing in the western countryside of Deir al-Zour, the largest city in eastern Syria.
Turkish-backed rebel factions fighting under the banner of the Syrian National Army were also advancing north-west of Aleppo into territory held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Israel confirmed it was attacking suspected government chemical weapon and missile sites in Syria, saying this was to stop them falling into the hands of extremists. It also said it would keep a “limited” troop presence in what had been a demilitarised buffer zone in part of the Golan Heights because Syrian troops had abandoned their posts there.
Former Assad loyalists also appeared to be still in control of the Mediterranean coast and mountains in the west of the country. The region is a stronghold of Assad’s minority Alawite sect and also the location of two key Russian military bases – Hmeimim airbase and the naval base in Tartous.
